St Anne Catholic Church elevated to parish

The St Anne Catholic Church at Teshie has been elevated to a parish status.

The well-attended elevation ceremony was performed by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle.

Goodwill message

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle in his message to the church, urged all Christians to stand up for marriage as God ordained it, adding that it was a stable union of a man and a woman.

He said the Catholic Church would uphold the doctrine and fundamental truth about marriage and family life and the role of sex within the former.

According to him, Pope Francis had urged the Catholic faithful to renew their love and respect for marriage and the family as taught by divine revelation.

Most Rev Palmer-Buckle explained the various stages of the rites of dedication and anointing to the congregation before he performed the rites of elevation.

Some of the rites performed during the event included the blessing and sprinkling of Holy water on the congregation as a sign of repentance, a reminder of the sacrament of baptism and a symbol of cleansing of the walls of the church and the altar.

The Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council, Mr Wallace Akondor, recounted the various stages of the construction of the church and its development.

He thanked members whose hard work and sacrifice had brought the church to its current status.

He expressed the hope that the church would provide shelter for the oppressed, solace for the dejected, healing for the sick and bring the congregation closer to God.